The group huddled in the caves looks up at the new arrivals, a bit startled.

One of them steps forward, a young man with twinkling eyes and long black hair. [Language unknown: "Vor shevirere ckwhi undme hatndesan u, icneai, ndecomive was ei ofndiv."] He looks up at the pair of Lakota and smiles [Language unknown: "Wait Ectll! Ntewasred Planma! Ca ssev eenatiounons! Seacma tr nisaet!"]

Another, older man steps forward, and looks at the arrivals. Thunder Walker recognizes him as Laughing Calf. [Language unknown: "Tioounort Ntacer! M p stret ouslesshe Eau Wh ntolst les!"] He cocks an ear toward the battle above. [Language unknown: "Es et asiolo urebe Ati Evteec?"]

Wovoka shakes his head. [Language unknown: "N, utfotr Wiivmell Butes. Ourlinore etas ndos Ess Altice. Ss ngek u utti wasund'dayiou, n adremiil n prowa whe. Iv ceho Tedtedant Fihetr, poive day eeun ter resti derun ingonsman ec ofssll thetec teivtiur n er. Icll rom fintol. Ro th ev onemaneau onesomnti."] He looks over at Moses, as if seeing the huge man for the first time. "I bid greeting, holy one." He says in accented English. "I thank you for your rescue. Wakan Tanka blesses you." He looks back at Thunder Walker. [Private to group Siouan: "Is the path clear, back the way you came? Can we escape the Raven's grasp?"]

---

The battle above on the northern cliff is swift and brutal. Despite the shaman's prayers and the white man's weapons, none of the dead men fall to the Ravenite attacks. Braves are ripped and torn apart left and right by the long knives. The soldiers lose arms, legs, heads, and yet still charge forward on their rotting steeds, bayonets flashing in the dim moonlight.

The shamaness, seeing the slaughter approaching her position, curses and sings a swift prayer to Raven. She takes the bird's form and flies away from the cliffs, into the night...unaware she may have been spotted by a lonely eagle up on high...

Across the chasm, Hoarse From Roaring watches his brothers murdered by the Long Knives. He contemplates rushing them, igniting the boom sticks he still has left...but realizes that this is folly. He has lost.

"FLEE! FLEE FOR YOUR LIVES, WARRIORS!" he shouts to his men. "RETREAT!"

Across the valley, the undead soldiers let out a cheer as they see the Ravenites break and run.

"Good show, men!" Their rotting leader crows. "Let's strike the fear into them! Sgt. Wallace, take your men and ride after. Give them a good, stern chase, then return to Slumber. Sgt. Baines, take a force and sweep the valley below. Dispatch any heathens remaining."

The dead NCOs nod, and the troops splits in two...

((OOC: Now for the battle rolls. This is an opposed Knowledge (Battle) check between Col. Tom Custer and Hoarse from Roaring.

Col. Tom Custer has more troops (+3), got a raise on his roll (+2), and has a better plan (+1) but he's at a terrain disadvantage (-2) because of how he and his regiment manifested. His total modifier is +4.

Hoarse From Roaring has fewer troops (-3) but a raise on his roll (+2) and a raise from his Shamaness (+2). He also counts as Light Artilery (+1) thanks to his dynamite. His total modifier is +2.

Custer's roll: The Black Regiment rolled 9,15 using d6+4,d6+4, rerolling max with rolls of 5,(6+5)11. Knowledge (Battle).

Hoarse from Roaring's roll: Hoarse From Roaring rolled 3,3 using d4,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,3. Ouch. That's a Success and Two Raises for The Black Regiment, which means that the Ravenites lose 3 tokens. That's 6 Ravenites dead from the initial attack.

Hoarse from Roaring needs to make a Morale check for his remaining troops. He has a -3 penalty for the troops he lost. Hoarse From Roaring rolled -2,2 using d8-3,d6-3, rerolling max with rolls of 1,5. Morale.

This means his side has lost, and his troops will conduct an orderly retreat, pursued by the Black Regiment.

You're not out of trouble yet, though...they are sending a troop to scout the valley fro stragglers.))

---

Turn Order:
Tan Xiaohan: KD
Wovoka and the Ghost Dancers: BJ!
The Black Regiment: QH
Moses: JS
Thunder Walker:8S
Sky Hawk: 7H
This message was last edited by the player at 02:08, Tue 25 Sept 2012.

---

OOC:
20:05, Today: Sky Hawk drew the single card: 7H using the Deadlands system.
20:05, Today: Thunder Walker drew the single card: 8S using the Deadlands system.

He Who Illuminates The Heavens takes a fast and silent dive at the fleeing shamen, but a large black bird on a large expanse of blackness is hard to grasp.

[['cause Wanbli rolled negative on that grapple, 'less he has chips and/or the Drop.
init. 10H]]

Xiaohan looks alarmed at the news the bluecoats are real fighting devils rather than metaphorical ones, but also looks to Thunder Walker, since he was the one addressed and also able to "see" the battlefield outside. The comment that returning fast would be best rises up, but Xiao catches it between tongue and teeth.

[[on Hold - eleven years or so of daily risk of injury or death for speaking out of turn will do that.]]

"I think we can escape the Raven's grasp, but the dead men that walk here have rode against them, and I fear they will kill us as well if they can find us. Wanbli Luja aids us in our effort to rescue you, and earlier he lent me his sight that I might see the lay of the land from the eyes of a mighty eagle. If he does so again, I will have a better idea of how to plan for this." He shook his head and then spoke again.

"How many are there here? Perhaps we can sneak away, the way we came? Laughing Calf, these are your lands. What is the best route to avoid the Black Walkers that fight above? They cannot know this country like the Lakota."

He spoke in English, so that Moses could follow them, but he repeated his words quickly in Lakota when necessary for those of the people.

"We are five." Wovoka says in English. "I have treated the injuries among us, so we are all in wellness for traveling."

"With the Black Walkers, I do not know." Laughing Calf says, also in English. "This threat is new to our lands. They never appeared before the battle with Yellow Hair at the Greasy Grass. If they move as cavalry move, they will need to take their horses around the hill to attack...the cliffs are to steep for horses. The Ravens attacked us from above, shooting down into the valley. But the Black Walkers prefer the close kill. Do you have horses waiting? We may outrun them. If not, we may have to defend here. The Black Walkers are not as the Shambling Dead. Wounds to the head are as wounds to any other part. The best way is to target one with many attacks, then move on to another as it falls."

"We brought no horses. To make noise in this place was to draw the Raven upon us, and we wished to bring you out quietly without a fight. Their numbers were too many for us. There are more who came to help...others not of the people who pledged their aid to Wanbli Luja, but I cannot be certain of where they may be now. Perhaps the best thing to do is to hide here. If the Brothers of the Raven have been defeated, they may not know that we hide here. They may think they have killed all of their enemies and move on. And if they find us, then we can fight."

Xiao gets up and steps forward a little, tensed and ready to bow apology to the older men if speaking up is too bold. "I...or Moses could go out to the damn-yankees-" the youth seems to think this is one word "-if they come here, and thank them for saving us from wicked savage man, then they not look in, I think."

The little Chinese swallows and looks to Moses, the movement just a gleam of eyes in the dark of the cave.

Moses stands there like a proverbial rock, nodding at the prophet Wovoka. He turns to ignore the chatter of the indians, inspecting the walls of the cave instead, his hand reaching out touching the stone, gently stroking it.
He nods. "And this here is the same kind of rock, Lord?" He chuckles, a moment later, as if in reply to an answer.



He turns and looks down the young chinese. "These soldiers have risen from their graves a thousand times already. They are creatures of Hell and serve only War." He sighs.
"There might be some of their former selves still left in them. But no love or kindness. That has been stripped away from them in their endless stuggle towards Perdition. If you were to gou out, they would see a chink, come from a far away land to be treated like dogs. If Moses where to face them, they would think him a savage animal."
He is quiet for a moment, then nods again. "Yet they are still soldiers. And Moses is no heathen. He shall go and deter them from this site. You should go and protect the prophet Wovoka. If the Lord wills it, Moses shall meet you back at the stage, as agreed."

Wovoka shakes his head. "You will not go and face them alone. Too many people have died for me this day. If you would face them, then I must go as well."

"Wovoka, they will think you a Lakota if you go out. Moses here will not be mistaken for one of us." At least, he was relatively confident of that. If White men in blue coats that walked in the form of death were to see this imposing, English speaking black man of faith, they surely were not fool enough to mistake him for a Lakota.

"If they attack, we can join the fight. But if you go, there will be no recourse but to fight. If Moses goes alone, perhaps no need to fight."

Moses nods and takes the smaller man by his shoulders.
"You are favored by the Lord, Wovoka. Moses should know, as he is His humble servant. It would be an honor to die the death of martyrdom together, but your end is not today, Wovoka.
And it also not the last day of Moses on this earth, he thinks. But, not even His humble servant can always gauge the true meaning of His words.
If Moses is to be John The Baptist to your Jesus, then His will be done."

He lets go of Wovoka, and reaches behind his back, making sure the sawed-off double barrel is in easy reach, then clutches his stick and strides outside the cave.
"Take them to safety, Thunder Walker. The prophet Wovoka must not die."

Wovoka frowns, then he pulls a shining stone from a bag at his side[Private to Thunder Walker: Thunder Walker recognizes it as the gem from the Uktna's brow], and begins to sing.

[Language unknown: "#N omch Erethiany, ill Seca, ill es tavir ave n saaiss.

K atiek Preterhou arse Ekseio, ver m na latna nd butoneame.

O Ndarer tr pl An, tost m ateck Lessomted.

Na Omncee le ec Caleat, omus n nomeme ti mawhe di anugh.

A Heroutoun ca dino Ntat, str in sonouline a enivta is wati lohi lesbutons.

T Ncpout fi set Whehisera, eraarelar k chwi the termenwerent llurol.#"]

The song fills the air, and seems to settle on Moses like a warm breath. He can feel his skin harden as the magic seeps into him.

"Take this blessing, my brother." Wovoka says, then heads over to Thunder Walker and Tan Xiaohan. "I am ready."

((OOC: Wovoka casts Armor on Moses.

Wovoka rolled 28,5 using d12+1,d6+1, rerolling max with rolls of (12+12+3)27,4. Tribal Medicine. Success and 6(!) Raises. That's a +4 Toughness bonus to Moses, and it will last until Wovoka stops maintaining it. Since he rolled so high, I'm going to change the duration to "until the encounter ends" rather than measure it in turns.

To sneak out while Moses is distracting the Soldiers, make a Cooperative Stealth roll, with a +2 Bonus from the darkness. This will be opposed by the notice of the soldiers.

Wovoka has no Stealth, so he'll be useless for this roll. Laughing Calf, on the other hand, can make this roll, and I'll roll for all the brave (including Sky Hawk). They all get a +2 to this roll from the Darkness

Laughing Calf: Laughing Calf rolled 6,7 using d6+2,d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 4,5. Stealth. He adds +1
Braves: Old Ways Braves rolled 3,3 using d6+2,d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 1,1. Group Stealth. Well, Balls. They will inflict a -2 penalty on the group check thanks to the critical failure...

Your turn, guys.))

Xiaohan bows briefly to Moses' departure, adding a silent prayer to any spirits that might be about. As for holding up their end of the plan, moving quietly seems to be the little Chinese's strong point.

[[08:08, Today: Tan Xiaohan rolled 12,18 using d6+1,d6+1, rerolling max with rolls of (6+5)11,(6+6+5)17. sneakin'. ]]

Taking special care to escort Wovoka, he moved with as great a silence as he could manage, gesturing for Sky Hawk to go ahead of him. He sent up a prayer to the Great Spirit to watch over Moses.

---

08:02, Today: Thunder Walker rolled 6,6 using d6+2,d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 4,4. Sneak!

Moving like the night itself, Sky Hawk kept pace with the rest of the group, his movements so unnoticeable that they were only surpassed by those of the surprisingly nimble and quiet Chinese boy. Sky Hawk was very impressed with him, if puzzled. That one had made so much noise and such a mess in the forest earlier, but moved with such natural grace and poise now. The only way he could rationalize it was that it must be a gift from the spirits in return for going out of his way to help the people.

---

08:02, Today: Sky Hawk rolled 8 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of (6+2)8.

Moses walks out to meet the dead men. Ten dead soldiers travel down the gorge on horseback, rattling bushes with sabers and laughing as frightened animals leap out of their path.

None of them seem to have spotted the group as it sneaks out of the cave and towards freedom. In fact, Moses doesn't think they've spotted him yet.

((OOC: The Black Regiment rolled a 3 on their Notice roll, so Moses gets to make the first move. You'll get The Drop on any attack you make. Then draw a card for initiative after that.))

Not really a ranged combatant :-)

Moses puts his staff down, knowing without looking that his comrades make their getaway.
He shakes his head. "No, Lord, they have suffered long enough. Moses shall try to end their suffering."
He looks up. "Let Moses carry Thy shield and sword, Lord, so that he may smite your enemies."

16:39, Today: Moses rolled 6,13 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 6,(6+6+1)13. Faith for Deflection.

A small gust of wind blows back Moses' black duster and the holy man nods. "Yes, Lord, you are right, as always."


16:41, Today: Moses drew the single card: QH using the Deadlands system. Initiative.

[Private to GM: Question: Dispel wouldn't generally work on them, right? That would be an exorcism and would take 8 hours right? Would be nice if there was a somewhat faster ritual that did the same, Supernatural-style.]

((OOC: The Black Regiment gets JC for their card, so Moses still gets the Drop on them, and I'll allow the +4 bonus to be added to any Faith checks you make to call down miracles.))

[Private to Moses: OOC: That is correct. Dispel will not work on them, and Banishment is not available in the Deadlands setting. Given that Deadlands is a horror game, I'm sure the lack of quick banishment is intentional on the part of the designers. Luckily, Blessed get access to a few Area spells in this situation. if you want to call on those for an edge, you can affect 2d4 of them with a Medium Burst or Cone Template, and 2d6 of them in a Large Burst template. That way you can, say, use Stun on them and then go to town on the ones who Unshake.]

Moses takes a few steps forward and stretches his arms wide from his body.
As the first rider approaches, he bellows out a challenge:
"You shall not pass!"

The horse neighs, rising to its hindlegs, almost throwing his undead rider off.

"Moses knows the Lord is slow to anger but great in power; his humble servant will not leave the wicked unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet!"

09:42, Today: Moses rolled 13,8 using d8+4,d6+4, rerolling max with rolls of (8+1)9,4. faith for windstorm

At his words, small clouds of dust begin to twist and twirl at Moses' feet, quickly picking up their pace, winds rising and forming a twister, that runs from the prophet's outstretched arms forward into the ranks of cavalry.

((OOC: Roll 2d4 so I know how many of the riders you catch within the initial storm, please. Also, Card for next turn.))

10:06, Today: Moses drew the single card: 3D using the Deadlands system. initiative.
10:06, Today: Moses rolled 6 using 2d4 with rolls of 4,2. how many riders?

The sudden gust of wind startles the dead soldiers, who fire wildly. By God's grace, not a single bullet comes near the dark-skinned prophet.

"Fall back! Regroup!" One of the soldiers commands, and the riders begin to file back the way they came.


((OOC: Vigor for the soldiers caught in the blast:

The Black Regiment rolled 9,4,5,5,5,5 using d6,d6,d6,d6,d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of (6+3)9,4,5,5,5,5. Shaken? So none of them are shaken, but all are blinded.

The ones who were outside the blast take shots at Moses. They have a -4 penalty from his holy aura.

I roll...no hits.

The others have a combined -10 penalty to hit, so I'm not even going to bother. Instead, they will retreat out of the whirlwind. They can see now, but the whirlwind is between them and Moses. That's a -2 penalty to hit for firing through the twister, plus Moses's deflection power. No hits from this group either, and the twister template fills the ravine, so they can't ride around it.

Card: 10D

The Black Regiment will start a tactical retreat. The ones who shot first will move back 8 squares. the rest can't move that fast, because they had to move out of the whirlwind in the first place. Moses can probably keep pace with them...roll 2d4 when you move the whirlwind to see how many you can catch.

Card for next round: 2S))

---

Moses is up!

Slowly, Moses brings his arms forward, the whirlwind moving according to his will.

12:02, Today: Moses rolled 8 using 2d4, rerolling max with rolls of 3,(4+1)5. How many riders now?

The prophet follows the storm and the men, his long stride assured through the grace of his Lord.

"Kneel! Kneel down before the Almighty's prophet and accept His salvation or the storms will blow you back to the depths of the hell!" he shouts

12:06, Today: Moses drew the single card: BJ! using the Deadlands system. Initiative.
Not bad. First Pierce, then Moses. The latter, quite fittingly, drawing the Black Joker. :-)

This message was last edited by the player at 10:07, Sun 30 Sept 2012.

The whrilwind rips through the ranks of the Black Regiment, scattering men and horses. One of the riders is tossed from his horse and dashed agaisnt the rocks, and vanishes in a haze of greasy black smoke. The soldiers remaining get twisted around and lost, while the others break ranks and gallop away.

Soon, only three of the dead soldiers are left in the valley.

((OOC: Vigor rolls for the BR: 3,2,5,2,2,4,17,7. That's half of the group affected that're shaken by the whirlwind.

That means some might be knocked off their horses. I roll Riding: 3,5,7,1.

I roll damage for the ones knocked off their horses: 12,7. One of them is fine 9isf shaken and unhorsed). The other is dealt a wound from the fall and vanishes.

The survivors go now. three left and need to unshake: 1,2,3. Huh. Well, that's a fail.

The rest of them ride out of the windstorm, running their horses. They move 11 squares total, which means they're now out of sight of Moses and out of range of his spell.

3 of the Black Regiment soldiers are left.

Card for next round: 8H))

---

Moses is up!